When I started this blog I was attempting to transition back into things I enjoy. I had a lot to learn about style after neglecting it for years. It has been fun! Along the way I have learned how to incorporate color into my wardrobe (funny I was never shy about using it in my home), what lines enhance my body and how things fit. This blog has encouraged me to experiment, start sewing again and appreciate the art and craftsmanship in a beautiful garment. It has encouraged me to spend time on contemplation and my self.

It has not changed my attitude about how much to spend on clothing (although I suppose if I had a lot of disposable income I might be tempted to buy or try to create some of those beautifully crafted garments I mentioned above). It has changed my attitude about how many pieces of clothing I need in my closet and how they get there. I am still defining how many and what and I believe that is an ongoing process as the days and weeks go by. Most of the things I own come from thrift stores or I make them myself. The more I read fashion/style blogs and go to stores to see what clothing styles and colors are current the less I want to buy new. There is SO MUCH out there.

When I was a teenager I took great joy in taking all my babysitting earnings and spending them on new clothes or new fabric to create new clothes. Now I get a little sick to my stomach when I think about grabbing armfuls of new clothing to take home. I know it is part of what keeps our economy rolling but………. at what cost? How do we reconcile keeping creative designers at work designing those beautiful garments with having too much stuff?

I will continue to share with you my thrift store finds and some of my upcycled items I am creating as well as any brands that have figured out how to get creative and reconcile their product with their impact on the environment.

My outfit above is courtesy of Value Village and Goodwill earlier this week. It is an attempt to move from the gray that has been the backbone to some more spring like colors as it finally gets a little warmer here in the Pacific Northwest.

The leggings are generic, the jacket is from a company called Modern Soul which I can find nothing about online. The jacket goes with my gray and my brown and would also work with green which I don’t have much of. Both items are made with polyester and spandex along with cotton or rayon which makes them feel drapier and soft. There were lots of chemicals that I can’t even pronounce used to create these original garments. I love flowy wash and wear garments that feel great as I move through my day. The shoes (found on this same thrift store trip) are something I could wear all day. They are brand new Clarks in my size!

For my body type which is that bottom heavy lovely pear (or triangle) with an occasionally growing middle longer styles (but not oversized styles) with curvy lines help me look balanced. The scarf draws attention up and away from the unbalanced heavier lower portion of my body. The colors blend together and don’t overwhelm my blended natural coloring.

How do you reconcile your fashion purchases with your environmental consciousness?

This creative roadside tableau in a field strewn with lava boulders was outside Hagerman Idaho.

Your style shows in everything you do and this person (whoever it is) got creative in a big way staging an old wrecked truck to look as if it had crashed into this tree stump with a body thrown through the windshield and been left to age. The writing on the door says Mr. Pickens moonshine.

I would enjoy meeting the creator of this. They think just a little bit differently than the rest of us and take the time to manifest their ideas. Your clothing can do the same thing for you. Take a little bit of time and express what you are thinking and feeling inside to show the outside world who you are. For me personally this is easier said than done. Even though I quit working at the beginning of 2017 I have found myself on the road or preparing to be on the road. This has left me little time to think or express myself. And maybe that is my way of hiding and resting during this transitional time. I need to create alone time and speak up to get it so I have time to process.

We all have different needs. It is easy to ignore them and harder to do the work to figure out what they are. I admire those who find the time to pull together a unique interesting wardrobe that looks fabulous. I wonder if it takes them less time than it takes me. Is it effortless for them? I am sure they have done work at some point to learn about colors, fit and styles that work for their body shape. Have they also thought about who they are?

It is easy for me to get lost on the way to finding myself. To let myself get tied up in what others think I should be doing, to rush from one thing to another, to spend time on social media or defending myself and how I want to spend my time to my partner. I spent 30 plus years as a small business owner. That was my excuse for not having time for myself. I pushed to get everything done and rarely stepped back to see what I wanted my life to be about. It was work all day, cover for employees, spend time on the rest of the family’s hobbies/needs, cook, sleep and repeat. I thought this was how life had to be. It made me resentful.

Instead I realized it was a choice I was making. Everything we do is a choice. You might feel like you have no choice but there is always another choice. Your choices have put you where you are. Now it is time to joyously accept that and make conscious choices in the future. Realize that not making choices is choosing. Letting someone else choose for you is a choice.

For me spending 30 minutes or so a day (mornings are best for me) pausing and reflecting help me be more conscious of living a life I mean to live. Not spending that time these last few months has put me in a state of limbo and anxiety. How do you become conscious of where you are and how you got there?